Grey Bruce Hospice raised $120,000 in its recent Hike for Hospice event at Harrison Park in Owen Sound.
The event ran May 27 and Grey Bruce Hospice Funds Development Coordinator Amy McConachie and Clinical Coordinator Ann Elford say the event was very successful.
“It was our first in-person hike since before Covid,” says McConachie. “It was ran like a hybrid approach, so we had a lot of online participation, plus people did their own thing throughout the month of May, and then I would say at least 300 showed up for the day of.”
McConachie explains as a result of employing the hybrid model, they have started calling it the Move for Hospice, where people could do an activity throughout May.
“We are just letting people make their own challenge, to challenge themselves and with what they were comfortable with doing,” says McConachie.
She says the funds raised will go towards the general upkeep of Grey Bruce Hospice and tending to their residents.
“We are only 47 per cent funded by the government, so the rest of our dollars are fundraised dollars. So that is $1.6 million that we have to fundraise this year,” says Elford and McConachie.
To help achieve this goal, McConachie says they have a lot of third party fundraisers happening in the community.
“We have just recently come off the Attack that had us as the Hockey for Hospice, we had the hike, we have other events like Horses for Hospice, we do an annual news letter, and end of year ask which is always a big fundraiser for us as well,” says McConachie.
McConachie adds they are looking forward to reaching more areas of Grey Bruce next year like they have done in the past.